Brand Strategy

Think Ahead for 2025: What Undercurrents Beyond Trends Brands Need to Know

Brand Strategy, Packaging Design / Annika Carroll

“Predicting the future” is not as daunting as it might sound. If you’re paying attention, the future is already here. For the past ten years, we’ve shared potential future scenarios brands and marketers should note as they consider new initiatives. Many of these potential futures have become reality: for example, in 2018 we explored a […]

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Website Design and The Blink Factor

Brand Strategy, Packaging Design / Annika Carroll

In the digital world, you have less time to form a lasting brand impression on a potential customer than it takes to blink. On average, a customer will form an impression about your brand in about 50 milliseconds. This makes having a good website design more than just a nice to have but an imperative.

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The Power of Nostalgia: Designing for Instant Emotional Impact

Brand Strategy, Packaging Design / Annika Carroll

Emotional connection is critical for a brand because it creates a deeper connection with consumers, influencing loyalty, purchase behavior, and overall brand perception. By evoking fond associations with a particular era, product, or cultural moment, brands can establish a bond with consumers, through a sense of comfort and trust. Human decision-making is greatly driven by

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The Top Trends in Brand Strategy and Positioning

Brand Strategy, Packaging Design / Annika Carroll

Brand strategy and positioning are like a compass and a spotlight for your business. A compass guides decision-making and operational actions, keeping you on track toward your goals. A spotlight highlights your unique strengths and values, helping you clearly stand out in a crowded market. This blog explores the top trends shaping brand strategy in

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Novelty Retail Experiences: Trends and Predictions

Brand Strategy, Packaging Design / Annika Carroll

Trends in novelty retail experiences are redefining how brands connect with consumers. These immersive and unexpected spaces offer a sense of discovery, tapping into customers’ desires and behaviors. In this blog, we introduce some of the latest trends in novelty retail experiences and explore how they may be shaping the future of retail. Multi-sensory Retail

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PetroCanada – CareMakers Foundation

Annika Carroll

https://www.sld.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/HEADER-1.mp4 Communicating Kindness The power of stories builds awareness for the Petro-Canada CareMaker’s Foundation. CLIENT PetroCanada CareMakersFoundation PROJECT CareMakers Website RELATED SERVICE Visual Identity DesignCorporate CommunicationsWeb Design, Content StrategyContent Production THINK As a relatively new organization, the PetroCanada CareMakers Foundation wanted to build awareness of their purpose: supporting Canadian family caregivers. The cause is one

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How the Huberman Podcast is Influencing Retail

Brand Strategy, Packaging Design / Annika Carroll

The wellness industry has been growing rapidly, with technology solutions such as wearables, personalized products such as 3D printed vitamins, and in-home gym and workout equipment. In the retail sector, hot trends in healthy lifestyles are changing certain categories and creating new ones. In today’s blog, we’ll explore how trends in wellness are reshaping health-focussed

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The Impact of Exterior Signage on Customer Connection

Brand Strategy, Packaging Design / Annika Carroll

Exterior signage is your brand’s calling card to the world. It’s a simple element with a massive impact, a visual cue that tells people who you are, what you stand for, and what they can expect inside. In this blog, we dive into why exterior signage matters and how it works. A-Pillar of Brand Identity

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How Dentists Are Leading The Way in Healthcare Clinic Design

Brand Strategy, Packaging Design / Annika Carroll

Dentistry is one of the most aesthetic of the medical professions, so it’s no surprise they lead the way when it comes to clinic design. Modern dental practices have moved away from the sterile, often tired-looking office spaces towards bolder and brighter settings that merge function, hospitality, and style. Ultimately, dentists have proven that interior

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Tackling The Billion-Dollar Returns Waste Crisis

Annika Carroll

Online retail has provided a new channel for growth, but it has also revealed a significant challenge. With return rates averaging 30-40% and soaring to 50% in the fashion industry, the industry is facing a pressing issue. Consumers return products worth a staggering $743 billion annually, constituting about 14.5% of total retail sales. Most of

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Apple AI, Let’s Get Personal

Brand Strategy, Packaging Design / Annika Carroll

No topic has been more buzzy over the last year than advanced AI such as ChatGPT and Dall-E. Apple’s recent announcement of the launch of Apple Intelligence adds another opportunity for marketers to explore how AI could support better customer experiences. Apple’s devices and user experience have always accelerated shifts in customer behaviors – will

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Five Signs it’s Time to Update Your Packaging Design

Brand Strategy, Packaging Design / Melinda Deines

Sometimes it’s hard to know when to make a change, and when it comes to packaging design, there is no set rule. However, like any aspects of a brand, packaging can become outdated or ineffective over time. But knowing when to refresh your design can make a huge impact on how your products perform in

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How Private Labels Can Capitalize on Value-Based Grocery Shopping

Brand Strategy, Packaging Design / Matthew Wilson

In an uncertain economy, grocery stores have a unique opportunity to win over customers through pricing as food costs continue to rise. With the rapid expansion of private label brands across North America, grocers have been able to introduce excellent private label offerings that deliver both selection and value. With this rise, how can grocery

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How to Deal with FOP Warning Labels and What to Expect

Digital Experiences / Melinda Deines

In Canada, the new front-of-pack labels for foods high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats are the latest in a wave of packaging regulations attempting to help consumers make healthy food choices. In today’s blog, we’ll ask some of the SLD team to weigh in on how they’re working to address the new FOP regulations,

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The Power of Puzzle-Solving and Lotteries for CPG Brands

Brand Engagement, Brand Strategy / Matthew Wilson

In an age of information overload, consumer attention is more divided than ever. CPG brands are constantly searching for new strategies to not only capture attention but to hold it. This brings us to the simple yet powerful tool of gamification. Our 2023 research “Gamification for CPG: The Power of Simple Games and Rewards” demonstrated that

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Win The Race Of Branch Transformation: 5 Strategies For Banks

Uncategorized / Matthew Wilson

A massive investment swing from digital transformation to retail networks is happening among financial institutions. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and PNC Bank recently made headlines with their billiondollar investments in branch refresh and transformation programs, which impact thousands of locations across the U.S. At the same time, many financial institutions are consolidating their networks,

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Navigate And Win The Branch Transformation Race

David Magnus

Many of the world’s largest banks are investing in redesigning their physical networks to better serve their customers. As financial institutions realize the impact that branches have on customer loyalty, it has become increasingly important to prioritize the physical experience. How can mid-size or regional banks keep up? Our webinar, “Navigate And Win The Branch Transformation

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How Supermarket Brands Can Make Grocery Shopping Fun

Brand Engagement, Brand Strategy / Melinda Deines

Grocery retailers fared better than most through the past five years: despite the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, global conflicts, and inflation, supermarkets are thriving. People need to eat, so it could be assumed supermarkets are invulnerable. However, two key factors suggest otherwise. Firstly, competition intensifies with international discount brands, with Lidl and Aldi entering North

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Six Things That Banks Should Avoid During Customer Experience Transformation

Brand Strategy, Financial Services / Matthew Wilson

For banks, Customer Experience (CX) transformation is full of challenges and opportunities. As markets evolve, new regulations are introduced, and financial behaviors shift, businesses must adapt and reinvent themselves to stay relevant. Drawing insights from our studies, particularly from our white papers “Overcoming Stealth Attrition In Retail Banking” in 2017 and “How Branch-Focused Customer Experiences

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How Legacy Brands Can Become Relevant Again

Brand Strategy / Melinda Deines

Widely popular brands can become yesterday’s news for a variety of reasons. Trends change, and new brands disrupt old ones. Established perceptions that once drove growth can become detrimental. Some companies throw in the towel and decide to start from the bottom up. But, creating a new brand from nothing is even more difficult than

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Brand Strategy

Think Ahead for 2025: What Undercurrents Beyond Trends Brands Need to Know

Website Design and The Blink Factor

The Power of Nostalgia: Designing for Instant Emotional Impact

The Top Trends in Brand Strategy and Positioning

Novelty Retail Experiences: Trends and Predictions

PetroCanada – CareMakers Foundation

How the Huberman Podcast is Influencing Retail

The Impact of Exterior Signage on Customer Connection

How Dentists Are Leading The Way in Healthcare Clinic Design

Tackling The Billion-Dollar Returns Waste Crisis

Apple AI, Let’s Get Personal

Five Signs it’s Time to Update Your Packaging Design

How Private Labels Can Capitalize on Value-Based Grocery Shopping

How to Deal with FOP Warning Labels and What to Expect

The Power of Puzzle-Solving and Lotteries for CPG Brands

Win The Race Of Branch Transformation: 5 Strategies For Banks

Navigate And Win The Branch Transformation Race

How Supermarket Brands Can Make Grocery Shopping Fun

Six Things That Banks Should Avoid During Customer Experience Transformation

How Legacy Brands Can Become Relevant Again

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